Project Bog Turtle is a conservation initiative started in 1995 by the North Carolina Herpetological Society and is the latest in a number of researches done on bog turtles dating back to the late 19th-century. Among the project's objectives are habitat protection, habitat restoration and management, involvement of landowners, and site surveys.

Most people think of the Southwest when they heard the words \"Texas horned lizard,\" sometimes called \"horned toad.\" Once kept as pets, these creatures either escaped or were released in a variety of places nationwide. The species was first reported in North Carolina in 1880; however, no colony was documented until 1989, when a thriving one was found in Onslow County near Swansboro. The Texas horned lizard is the only reptile species successfully introduced into the state.

The coachwhip has a record length of 8 1/2 feet, with six feet being more typical. It is the state's longest snake and it is limited to Southeastern section. It feeds on small mammals, birds, lizards, and other snakes.

Ticks, mosquitoes, leeches, and fleas may not be among your favorite creatures on the planet, but they all have one thing in common--they see people and animals as a food source, especially that nutritious elixir known as blood. Beane describes some of these blood suckers.

North Carolina is home to both Dwarf and Neuse River Waterdogs, amphibious, permanently aquatic salamanders whose habitats are in the rivers of piedmont and coastal North Carolina. The history, life facts, and protection of the waterdogs are discussed in this article.

Carolina bays are oval-shaped depressions found in the Coastal Plain that are dependent on rainwater and are less than six feet deep. Dry in some seasons, wetland-like in others, they provide habitats for rare and not- so-rare plants and animals.

There are twenty-one species of turtles living in North Carolina. All but three of them live in the coastal counties and include the loggerhead, leatherback, hawksbill, Kemp's ridley, and green turtle.

Nags Head Woods lies on the Outer Banks between Jockey's Ridge and the Wright Memorial. Beane says, \"Many ecologists have called the tract one of the best and most pristine examples of maritime forests remaining in the world. The approximately 1,400-acre system contains a variety of habitats and ecological communities.\" The woods is home to 300 species of plants, 150 species of birds, 22 mammal species, 28 reptiles, and 14 amphibians.

The Eastern tiger salamander is North Carolina's largest terrestrial salamander. Although it may grow to a foot in length, the salamander is such a secretive creature that few people have ever seen one. Most of the state's tiger salamanders are confined to the Sandhills region. This salamander is on North Carolina's endangered species list.

Because it is a shy, secretive creature, few North Carolinians know of the Eastern chicken turtle's existence. These turtles live in fewer than fifteen counties in the southeastern corner of the state. Their habitat is shallow, quiet waters, including cypress-gum swamps, beaver wetlands, slow-moving blackwater streams, large ephemeral ponds, and Carolina bays. A number of characteristics distinguish the chicken turtle from other turtles, including being almost exclusively carnivorous; having a long, flexible neck; spending the winter months on land; and being able to live nine months burrowed under dry land instead of pond bottoms.

Through the work of taxidermists, an outdoorsman's fondest hunting or fishing memories can be preserved for a lifetime. Beane discusses what should be done with a future trophy animal or fish before the taxidermist begins work on it and what should be done to keep it in good shape after the taxidermist's work is finished.